Bon-Ton: Better Shopping With WebSphere

The IBM e-commerce juggernaut continues.

Today, we announced that the Bon-Ton stores website experienced a double-digit increase in sales using IBM software to advance the company’s online and mobile commerce initiatives.

Bon-Ton Stores represents seven brands (including Bon-Ton, Bergner’s, Boston Store, among several others), all which sell leading brands in apparel, cosmetics, and home furnishings.

Each of these are now using IBM WebSphere Commerce software to enhance their customers’ online shopping experience by proposing relevant products and automatically providing coupons and discounts based on customer preferences.

By way of example, when a shopper puts a sweater in their online shopping cart, Bon-Ton’s new site is able to identify shoes, accessories, and pants to complete the order.

Here’s my question: Can I also identify somebody else’s credit card to pay for it all?!

Just kiddin’.

Furthermore, loyal customers can receive coupons and discounts automagically during the checkout process.

This holiday season, online sales are outpacing all other retail sales channels. Within a few months of launching, Bon-Ton’s new online store became its top-selling location in several merchandise categories, a trend they expect to expand over the next twelve months.

Bon-Ton, Inc. is using IBM WebSphere Commerce in several of its stores to enhance the mobile and social capabilities of its retail experience.

“We see our new eCommerce capability as one of our most important growth initiatives. The growth in our customer’s use of the Internet for finding product information and making purchases is a key driver behind making significant improvements to our websites,” said Jimmy Mansker, Senior Vice President, Internet Marketing, The Bon-Ton Stores, Inc. “We are experiencing very favorable results using mobile coupons and online social networks. This is one step of many that we are taking to develop a richer online shopping experience.”

By using IBM WebSphere Commerce software, Bon-Ton has also been able to streamline day-to-day back office functions such as managing inventory and shipping.

Bon-Ton is making more merchandise available to customers with faster delivery methods. Now 30,000 more SKUs are available to online shoppers easing the store’s burden of carrying excess inventory. Improvements in distribution methods allows Bon-Ton to reduce items on back order and quickly ship merchandise to customers directly from the manufacture, another Bon-Ton store or from distribution centers which serve their area.

Bon-Ton expects other marketing campaigns such as using email marketing, advancing its recently launched Facebook page, in-store events, mobile coupons and content-rich video demonstrations to drive store traffic and deliver customers with a more personalized shopping experience.